MOISTTJEE COITTENT AND SHEINKAGE OP FORAGE. 27 



The effect of the stage of development on the amount of moisture 

 remaining in the air-dry material, as shown in Table VII, is also a 

 matter of interest. In the case of alfalfa at Chico, CaL, the young 

 plants air dry contained a little more moisture than the older plants. 

 At New London, Ohio, timothy showed practically no difference. 

 Red Amber sorghum at Hays, Kans., showed no difference, while at 

 AmariUo, Tex., the young plants contained decidedly less. The 

 uniformity of the moisture content at Hays and the lack of uniformity 

 at AmariUo (Table VI) is accounted for by the fact that at Hays the 

 stems of each sample were split, thus allowing the complete drying of 

 the mature samples, while at AmariUo the stems were not split, and the 

 immature specimens dried out more completely than the mature ones. 



LOSS OF MOISTURE IN FORAGE DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF 



CURING. 



To determine the rate of loss of moisture in different crops during 

 the period directly foUowing the cutting in different localities and 

 under different weather conditions, the foUowing crops were used: At 

 Arlington Farm, Va., alf aU a and a mixture of taU oat-grass and orchard 

 grass; at Chico, CaL, alfalfa; at New London, Ohio, timothy; and 

 at Hays, Kans., sorghum. The material was cut as quickly as 

 possible and weighed immediately, using about 100 pounds green 

 weight. This 100 pounds of green forage was placed on a canvas 

 and weighed every 10 minutes through 1 hour, and every 30 minutes 

 thereafter until 4 hours had elapsed. At Hays and New London 

 determinations were made under both clear and partly cloudy con- 

 ditions, but at Chico and Arlington Farm determinations were made 

 for each crop under one condition only. 



At Hays, Kans., the experiment was carried out with Red Amber 

 sorghum in the soft-dough stage, and records of moisture loss were 

 secured both for forage scattered as it would be in the swath, and 

 also bunched, as it would be if raked into windrows. On August 18 

 the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was blowing but little, and the 

 maximum temperature was 104° F. On September 25 the first 

 weights were taken at 1.40 p. m., and the last at 5.40 p. m. The 

 day was bright, with a gentle breeze and a maximum temperature 

 of 82° F. Table VIII gives the rate of loss of moisture in these 

 experiments. 



The rate of loss was greatest in the scattered material, but the 

 difference is not as great as one might expect. In the first 30 minutes 

 the loss ranged from 1 to 2 per cent. The difference in the amount 

 of moisture lost by the bunched and the scattered lots was 4.89 per 

 cent on August 18 and 4 per cent on September 25. The greatest 

 loss in 4 hours in the bunched lots was 8.2 per cent and in the scat- 

 tered lots 13.1 per cent. 



